Citrus Pan au Levain with Poppy and Sesame Seeds | BBB

A citrus pan au levain hosted by Cathy at Bread Experience for BBB laid down some interesting ground rules. I decided to play within these rules and make what could be served as a picnic bread as we headed outdoors. In the first version, I used semolina and kamut as the base flours, together with black and white sesame seeds and fennel seeds. The resulting bread was over the top in flavor but underdelivered in volume and crumb structure. In the second round, I figured it was time to rein in the overzealous plan and go back to something more basic. After days spent building sourdough levains, I finally finished with a citrus pan au levain with poppy and sesame seeds that I’m happy with. Now, I can stop.

Back to the ground rules. First, 30% of some kind of whole wheat flour. Second, include a citrus flavor. Third, include some seeds or herbs or both. Within these parameters, I chose whole spelt and wheat flour (in the liquid levain) with the remainder of the dough in bread flour. Since I always have lemons around, lemon is the citrus of choice. It is a pantry staple — for cooking, for flavoring and for baking in my kitchen. Besides, one of my favorite cakes I often bake is a lemon poppy seed cake. Voila, poppy seed surely pairs well with lemon. Coupled with some sesame seeds, how seedy could one take the citrus pan au levain?

Obviously, it wasn’t enough to add poppy and sesame seeds in the dough. I had to roll more seed mix on the exterior, when shaping one boule and one bâtard. What surprised me was the tinge of slate blue on the crust of the bread. For sure, this citrus pan au levain makes for a textured and delicate crust full of crunchy goodness. Somehow, the citrus flavor was a bit lost.

The crust shows a tinge of slate blue

Relatively open crumb with 30%+ whole wheat flour

Be forewarned that eating both poppy seed bread and poppy seed bagels can result in testing positive for opiate use, 30 minutes later. International travelers to certain countries may be prone to difficulties and severe punishments based on false positive results. In Singapore, poppy seeds are classified as “prohibited goods” by the Central Narcotics Bureau.

This is the first bread recipe on this blog that comes with a warning label. It won’t be the last!